The One That Rules The Roast

One thing good about living in the valley - you can find some really good char siew around here. And I do mean really good. So when (admittedly, quite some time back) Cubitt proposed to have dinner at a restaurant that serves THE BEST char siew, the lesbians, the Londoner and I all flocked over to Hoong Loong in Damansara Jaya to find out just how true those rumours are.

Of course, this being a full-scale Chinese restaurant, we didn't just have char sio p'ng. We ordered a few fancy dishes (which cost quite a fancy bit).

We had mango chicken, which was nice; tofu with seaweed and mushroom, which was delectable; and the kailan was green and crisp.


"Interesting" would be the perfect word to describe the twin-style pomfret. The meat was carved out and wrapped around slices of mushroom then steamed. The bones were then deep-fried into crisps. The crispy bones were just like a snack; while the meat, though very nicely steamed was kinda lost when eaten with the mushroom. I think I would have enjoyed the pomfret more if it had been done Teochew style.


But of course, the whole reason we were there in the first place was the char siew. So did it live up to its reputation?

Well, the meat was succulent and well-flavoured. The honeyed sweetness of it made me think I was eating bak kua, except with "real" meat, so to say. Which is a good thing. I loved it, and it definitely ranks among the best in the valley.


But is it THE BEST? Well, yes, if you like your char siew lean with no hint of fat to threaten your diet. Personally, I prefer my char siew sinfully layered with porcine grease.

Therefore, as far as my tastebuds go, the top three char siew places to go to in the Klang Valley are:

#3: Hoong Loong Restaurant, Damansara Jaya
If you like char siew to be all meat and no fat, this is the place to go. It's tender, sweet and juicy and definitely the best lean char siew ever! Do expect prices beyond the norm though, as it's a real restaurant.

#2: Meng Kee, Glenmarie
They've crowned themselves the Char Siew King but they're number two on my list cos twice I've been served the lean portions which were quite dry and not so palattable. But if you ask for (and get) the fatty parts, well then it's really really mouthwateringly yummy. Pricier than the average char siew but well worth it.

#1: Sungai Besi Wan Tan Mee, Chan Sow Lin
Melt-in-your-mouth fatty char siew, complemented with out-of-this-world shrimp sambal paste, this is my personal favourite. If that's not enough, they serve kick-ass wild boar curry and yummy-tummy suey kao as well. Not cheap but not actually expensive, you'd just have to risk the possibility of getting smashed by a random wayward Merc while savouring the superlicious char siew there. Which, as I see it, isn't too bad a way to go after all.